


honeyed

by tokyos



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Drabble, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love, NCT Dream - Freeform, One Shot, Other, Poetic, Poetry, Short One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, cute little thing, x Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:18:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyos/pseuds/tokyos
Summary: you’d waste so many words on him—monologues about the sunsets in his eyes and sonnets about his willowy fingers. the daffodils blooming on his cheeks. enough to fill up the entire library. so many words that no one could even read them all. you’d breathe words into existence for him, in tongues that weren’t real yet. he was just the kind of boy you went above and beyond for; you couldn’t really help it. expressing your love was on a grand scheme, simply saying it could never be enough to accurately describe how you felt.





	honeyed

there was a certain dream-like quality to the library. perhaps it was the big arched oak doors that led into mouth of the first floor, or the soft maple of the bookshelves, hundreds of thousands of words entombed with within them. maybe it was the scent of rotting wood and pulpy pages and the lingering aroma of freshly-brewed coffee from the morning. but if you were honest with yourself, you knew it was because of him. he appeared to exist like a polaroid picture; blurry, soft, and with a phosphoric aura that radiated a color similar to the sun’s corona. he was like the sun, too—hard to look at but impossible not to see. and like the sun, too, you liked him from afar; you weren’t afraid of sunburns or ultraviolet rays, it was just that you knew what happened to those who ventured too close.

 

but damn damaged retinas. “hey renjun, i didn’t expect to see you here. what’s up?” he was sitting at an empty table by the window, appearing to be deeply involved in the manga he was reading. outside, a big redwood tree obscured the view of the city. but it was familiar to you; you knew across the street there was a run-down convenience store where you and your sibling sometimes bought watered-down slushies in the rogue heat of summer, and maybe stale pastries from the last aisle if you had money; and then there was the art supply store, and next to that seomun’s diner which was an odd coalescence of floral wallpaper and checkerboard floors, mingled with the scent of grease and burnt food. on this side of town, everything had a rain-beaten and dilapidated quality, but this library was the only one nearby so you swallowed your wits and made the walk down here. and what did you know, you stumbled upon the presence of an angel.

 

he looked up from his novel, surprised. your current acquaintance was that of an in-between, not-quite-friends, but there was some type of familiarity there; after all, you did encounter each other pretty often during school.

 

“oh, hello.” he smiled. your heart ballooned in your chest. he gestured to the chair next to him, where his backpack sat. the top of the table was a bit of a mess; a textbook opened to the beginning of chapter twelve, sticky notes in varying colors of pink, blue, and yellow decorating its’ surface, highlighted notes, and an assortment of pens and highlighters strewn haphazardly. and an opened container of what appeared to be…strawberries drizzled with honey. “truthfully, I should be studying for the psych quiz. but i guess i got a bit distracted.” he chuckled quietly. you wondered if anyone in this library knew cpr, just in case.

 

“ i see.” you cradled your book closer to your chest. “you like to read?” you inquired casually. 

 

“oh—yeah,” he smiled. the balloon of your heart filled with heat; it began to roam freely around your chest. you could feel it tickling your ribs. “you can sit down, i-if you want. i mean if you have somewhere to go…” 

 

you shook your head, quickly shouldering the strap of your bag off and onto the seat in front of you, before you took a seat in the one next to it. he’d gotten flustered—cute. 

 

“i’m supposed to be studying. but i guess i have a hard time focusing too.” you set your book down on the table. it was a worn paperback that you’d already read tons of times, but it was one of your favorites and you never got tired of it. 

 

“in the presence of so many words,” he gesticulated wildly, trying to encapsulate the library within his palms, “it’s hard not to.” 

 

_ in the presence of celestial beings _ , you thought,  _ it’s even harder _ . 

 

but you just smiled. “you’re right.”

 

you both settled into a comfortable silence, then. he, reading the chapter in his textbook and making notes in the margins. every now and then he would look back at his notes, then the textbook, then he would scribble something down he needed to remember. you opened your paperback and pretended to read, although you were more preoccupied with what he was doing. he picked up a strawberry, watched the honey drip, before putting it into his mouth. as he bit into the soft seedy flesh, his teeth and lips became stained with crimson. strawberries and honey? an odd combination. but if he liked it, it couldn’t be that bad. his hands—his hands! what a contemplation. they were thin and slender, tendons moving at the slightest action, with pale pink nailbeds. wrapped around a pencil, they moved with ease; his penmanship was meticulous and precise. he caught you staring, and you quickly adverted your gaze back to your book; but the hue on your cheeks gave you away. 

 

“you’re friends with chenle, right? I see you guys hanging out at the promenade sometimes.”

 

ah, zhong chenle—a wildfire of a boy and you’d been bitten by the flames. he was chaos in a person, you thought; but controlled chaos, at least when the situation permitted it. there was never a dull moment with him. 

 

“yeah, kind of. i helped him with his essay for literature last year and we became friends. but we don’t tell each other our deepest secrets or anything like that,” you laughed. 

 

he hummed. it came from the back of his throat and you swear the sound reverberated in your own chest. he turned back to his notes, before turning to his backpack and opening the main compartment. he rummaged around until he found what he was looking for—a glossy blue folder. in his neat handwriting, the top of it read ‘psych.’ he opened it, searching for a paper.

 

“that’s weird,” he began, furrowing his eyebrows. “i can’t find my notes on mood disorders. would you happen to have them?”

 

“oh, uh yeah—“ you turned to your bag, pulling out your notebook. you found the page, before sliding it over to him. he picked up his pen and began writing. “sorry if it’s a bit messy,” you apologized. 

 

he gave you a reassuring smile. “it’s fine, don’t worry.” the hot air balloon of a heart expanded, taking up all the room in your chest. 

 

you’d waste so many words on him—monologues about the sunsets in his eyes and sonnets about his willowy fingers. the daffodils blooming on his cheeks. enough to fill up the entire library. so many words that no one could even read them all. you’d breathe words into existence for him, in tongues that weren’t real yet. he was just the kind of boy you went above and beyond for; you couldn’t really help it. expressing your love was on a grand scheme, simply saying it could never be enough to accurately describe how you felt. 

 

a moment later he slid the notebook back over to you, expressing gratitude. you put the book back in your bag, offering him a smile. he began to collect his pens and put them in the front pocket of his bag, before organizing his notes into a neat stack and placing them in his folder and back into his bag. he closed his textbook, and put his novel on top of it. he checked the watch on his wrist. “it’s nearing noon. i guess i should head out now. thanks for um, talking with me.” 

 

you got up, picking up your bag and sliding it onto your shoulder. “of course! it was a pleasure.” you didn’t want him to go. but you also didn’t want to brave the walk home from the library in this heat, so you understood that sometimes being disappointed is inevitable. 

 

he stood up too, scratching the back of his head. he opened and closed his mouth, appearing to struggle to vocalize what he wanted to say. “y-you know that café by the promenade? the one that just opened? i think it’s on the corner of jongno-gu…”

 

you didn’t, but you nodded your head anyway. 

 

“well, if you ever have time, maybe we could go check it out? i heard they have really good chai lattes. but if you don’t like coffee, they have like, crepes and stuff too.” he visibly gulped, his adam’s apple bobbing. 

 

you’d pinch yourself, but that’d only look weird. instead, you said, “that sounds really nice. i would love to.”

 

and he smiled so brightly even the sun covered its’ eyes. “alright. we’ll talk more on monday, okay? enjoy the rest of your day.” he grabbed his bag and the container of strawberries, before he walked in the opposite direction, towards the back exit. he spared you one last wave before walking out. you waved back, feeling blood rushing in your ears. 

 

you’d fallen in love with an angel, and everyone knows how the story goes…

 

angels were never meant to love humans. but you couldn’t help but think they had to be wrong. 


End file.
